Penal Code 211 PC: Robbery in California

Penal Code 211 defines robbery as taking property from another person, or from their immediate presence, against their will, by force or fear. Robbery is always a felony and always a strike, with two to nine years in state prison depending on the degree and the facts, before any enhancements.

What PC 211 means

Robbery is a theft with force or fear added. The property can be taken from someone's hands or pockets, or from their immediate presence, such as a cash register they are standing behind. An on-duty store employee is treated as having possession of the store's property, so taking merchandise from a clerk or guard by force or fear can be robbery.

The force or fear doesn't have to come first. If you take property quietly and then use force or a threat to keep it or to get away with it, prosecutors can still charge robbery.

To convict you, the prosecutor must prove (CALCRIM 1600):

1. You took property that was not yours from another person's possession
2. You took it from the person or their immediate presence, against their will
3. You used force or fear to take it or to keep the person from resisting
4. You intended to permanently deprive the owner of it, and formed that intent before or while using force or fear

First and second degree robbery

First degree robbery (PC 212.5) is robbery inside an inhabited home, robbery of a bus, taxi or other for-hire driver or a passenger, and robbery of someone at or just after using an ATM. All other robbery, including most robberies of stores, businesses and people on the street, is second degree. Both degrees are felonies.

PC 211 penalties

• Second degree robbery: two, three or five years in state prison (PC 213(a)(2))
• First degree robbery: three, four or six years (PC 213(a)(1)(B))
• First degree robbery with two or more others inside a home: three, six or nine years (PC 213(a)(1)(A))
• Personally using a knife or other deadly weapon: one more year (PC 12022(b))
• Personally using a gun, even an unloaded one: 10 more years; firing it: 20 years; causing serious injury or death by firing it: 25 years to life (PC 12022.53)

Probation is possible in some cases, but the law limits it when you were armed with a deadly weapon and does not allow it if you personally used a gun (PC 1203(e), 1203.06). Judges can dismiss gun enhancements in some cases, so how the case is presented at sentencing matters.

Every robbery is a strike

Every robbery, first or second degree, is both a serious felony and a violent felony under California's Three Strikes law (PC 1192.7(c)(19), 667.5(c)(9)). Attempted robbery is also a strike. Because robbery is a violent felony, you earn less credit for good behavior than for a nonviolent felony, both in county jail before sentencing (no more than 15% of the time served, PC 2933.1) and in state prison, so you serve more of the sentence. With one prior strike, the sentence for a later felony is generally doubled, and a later serious felony can add five more years.

When shoplifting becomes a robbery

If you take something from a store and then use force or a threat against a security guard or employee to get away with it, prosecutors can charge robbery, even though it started as shoplifting. This is often called an Estes robbery, after the court case that allowed it. Whether force was used to keep the property, or only to get away after dropping it, can make the difference between robbery and a lesser charge.

Common defenses to PC 211

It depends on the evidence. Common defenses include:

• Mistaken identity, such as a doubtful eyewitness identification or unclear video
• No force or fear was used, which makes it a theft at most
• You believed in good faith that the property was yours, such as taking back your own phone
• False or exaggerated accusations, or a story that changed over time
• Evidence found in an illegal search, or an unfair lineup or photo identification

We review the police report, surveillance and body camera video, 911 calls, phone records and location data, and witness statements to find the weaknesses in the case.

Related charges

• PC 459 burglary
• PC 215 carjacking
• PC 487 grand theft
• PC 245 assault with a deadly weapon
• Robbery (practice page)
• Felony Strikes (practice page)

PC 211 cases in Riverside and San Bernardino counties

Robbery cases in both counties are prosecuted by the county District Attorney's Office, and because robbery is a violent felony, the court looks closely at bail and release conditions at the first court date. In San Bernardino County, cases from Rancho Cucamonga, Ontario, Upland, Chino, Chino Hills, Montclair, Fontana and Rialto are heard at the West Valley courthouse in Rancho Cucamonga; cases from San Bernardino, Colton, Highland, Redlands, Loma Linda and Yucaipa at the San Bernardino Justice Center; and cases from Victorville, Hesperia and Apple Valley at the Victorville courthouse. In Riverside County, criminal cases are heard at five courthouses: the Riverside Hall of Justice, the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta, the Banning Justice Center, the Larson Justice Center in Indio and the Blythe courthouse.

Felony cases usually include a preliminary hearing, where a judge decides whether there is enough evidence to hold you for trial; it is often the first chance to test an identification or a claim of force. Our office is in Riverside, and Yvonne Todd began her career as a Public Defender in San Bernardino.

Read the official text of PC 211 on the California Legislative Information site.

This page is general information about California law, not legal advice about your case. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.